Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Takes $1.21 Million Position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 63,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,214,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 6.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 131,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,725,000 after purchasing an additional 8,459 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth about $1,490,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth about $349,000. Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 60.1% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 47,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 17,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth about $368,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LBRT opened at $18.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.70. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.57 and a 52-week high of $24.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.51.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 8.02%. Liberty Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 13.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $300,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 750,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,011,642.07. This trade represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $395,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,638,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,169,333.01. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,037 shares of company stock valued at $1,911,802 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LBRT. Citigroup cut shares of Liberty Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Liberty Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.89.

Liberty Energy Profile

Liberty Energy Inc provides hydraulic services and related technologies to onshore oil and natural gas exploration, and production companies in North America. The company offers hydraulic fracturing services, including complementary services, such as wireline services, proppant delivery solutions, field gas processing and treating, compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery, data analytics, related goods comprising sand mine operations, and technologies; and well site fueling and logistics.